What are the highlights of the modern electron microscopes?
Did you know the simplest way of understanding the ability of a microscope is to study a drop of
water? When a drop of water falls onto a magazine the pictures or the characters seem bolder
and bigger. That is what the microscopes do. Due to refraction of light smaller objects or even
particles appear larger and visible. It has been many years since the invention of microscope, and
since then different variations have been made to the basic object. This gave rise to the portable
electron microscopes that are used today by most of the professionals involved in the field of
science.
This device displays images by using beams of electrons
Modern portable electron microscopes display an image of the object by using a beam of
electrons. It was crafted to visualize minute object with greater details and has better
amplification powers than light microscopes. It has superior magnification powers and is quite
large in size compared to other microscopes. This is high cost equipment that is usually a
standalone piece occupying the majority of a room and requires a specialized person to operate
it.
There are two different types of electron microscopes that are extensively used: scanning
electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The TEM uses the
principle of firing electrons to study the composite structure of the specimen. This is studied by
observing the nature of the collision, penetration of the electron beam and the phase of the
beam caused due to the firing of electrons. All the electron microscopes use electrostatic or
electromagnetic lenses to control the electrons. The modern electron microscopes can amplify
an object up to two million times, and are based on the principle of the relation between the
resolution and the wavelength.
The modern version is far advanced, yet portable!
Nowadays, it is considered to be the most important operating tool within the laboratories and is
an important part of it. It is used in labs to examine medical biopsy samples, crystalline
structures, assortment of different molecules, biological materials like cells, metals and nature of
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various surfaces etc. The modern electron microscope uses a high voltage beam released by a
cathode to form magnetic lenses.
This beam diffuses through a thin specimen to display the details of the specimen. This image
can be easily magnified and also can be recorded by passing through a fluorescent screen, a CCD
or a photographic plate. The CCD enables this image to be displayed on a computer or a monitor
for easy display. The important factors in identifying electron microscopes are total
magnification, resolution and the increasing voltage.
The important features of the electron microscope are:
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Image examination software

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Digital displays

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Changeable pressure chambers

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Computer interferences.

These features make the electron microscope a modern tool that is capable of performing varied
duties performed inside and outside the laboratories. The TEM, is the one that is mostly used
and generates two dimensional display and black and white images. Some of the modern
electron microscopes are available with cameras fitted onto it.
Electron microscopes constitute an integral part of the development of human civilization for the
betterment. It has been easier to trace minute viruses and micro-organisms and thereby ensure
proper medications for the same. It’s owing to its versatility that portable electron microscopes
are also used in forensic laboratories, for fabrication of silicon chips, for tracing gunshot residues
and in production lines.